Hypericum calycinum 'Brigadoon'

Alan's Favorite Ground Cover for Sun
For years, I have considered Aaron's Beard, Hypericum calycinum, a form of St. John's Wort, to be the best of the sun-loving, low-growing ground covers. More disease resistant than Blue Rug Juniper and far neater than Cotoneaster! The roots of Aaron's Beard form a tight, intertwined soil-holding mass even on steep banks and, once established, the foliage mass, only 15 inches tall, is dense enough to leave little space for weeds to get established. In summer, Hypericum calycinum is covered with butterfly-attracting, bright yellow 2-3 inch flowers - most notable for their prominent clusters of hundreds of stamens with reddish anthers.

Aaron's Beard is easy to grow in any well-drained soil, with no significant insect or disease problem in my experience. It is tolerant of both seashore and road salt and it is deer resistant. Aaron's Beard is evergreen in mild winters and in the warmest parts of its range.

'Brigadoon' - A New Aaron's Beard with Bright Yellow Foliage All Year Long
Normally Hypericum calycinum has grey-green foliage. 'Brigadoon' has eye-catching bright golden yellow leaves; and the new growth is tinged with apricot. Brightest golden color will be achieved in full sun. Brigadoon will perform well in part shade, but the foliage color will tend more toward chartreuse.

Use 'Brigadoon' as a ground cover or in masses in the border foreground. It is particularly handsome massed in front of shrubbery in the foundation planting. In large plantings, 'Brigadoon' can be blended as a tapestry with straight blue-green leaved Hypericum calycinum.

Planting and Care

  • Zones 5-7

  • Deer resistant and salt tolerant.

  • Plant in spring or summer (not autumn in Zones 5 and 6).

  • Space 12 inches apart.

  • Choose a site in full sun or light shade. In Zones 5 and 6, for maximum evergreen foliage retention, site away from the worst of winter's drying winds.

  • Not fussy about soil as long as it is well drained.

  • Water well until established.

  • Fertilize in spring with Plant-tone and Kelp Meal.

From 1 quart pots


Hypericum calycinum 'Brigadoon'
 

Garden Club Questions and Answers

Question: A few years ago I planted a red bee balm. It has done beautifully and it always flowers and attracts hummingbirds. However, it is covered with mildew as it has been every summer since I have had it.

Answer: You can spray with Infuse fungicide to treat the mildew. Next year you can coat the leaves with a barrier to prevent mildew spores from establishing. Insecticidal soap, anti-transpirants and horticultural oil all are effective to some extent. However, I really think that your best bet is to replace your Monarda with Jacob Cline. I believe this to be the most mildew resistant of all the Monardas.

Question: Last week in your newsletter you talked about giving containers of perennials reasonable winter care and protection. Exactly what did you mean?

Answer: I was thinking of things like moving the containers up against the wall of the house and out of the wind, wrapping the sides of the containers with several layers of bubble wrap and remembering to water them thoroughly about once a month during periodic thaws. In some cases I have had good luck covering the tops of the containers with a blanket of foam. In other cases I think the foam actually harmed the perennials. In the case of the red-leafed coral bells, I would not use foam.

Question: I live in the Chicago area so I can't come to your garden center, although I do buy from you over the internet. We recently moved and I had to leave all of my plants behind. I am finally getting ready to start landscaping our new home. This weekend I poked around several of our local garden centers and it seemed that everyone is stocked with loads of what are supposed to be great new plants. I couldn't find many of my old favorites, so you came to my rescue again. Alan, what is your honest opinion of these new plants? Can there really be that many great new plants that are better than the old standbys?

Answer: Like you, I suspect that many of these great new plants have not been thoroughly tested. I am disinclined to recommend many of these new plants without further testing. I suspect many of these supposedly great new plants will be unavailable in 10 years, having appropriately disappeared into oblivion. Certainly there are some real winners amongst them. It's my job to sort out the good from the bad for you.

You have probably noticed that many of the new plants are patented. This means that a royalty to the introducer is part of the price of this plant. Part of each royalty is used to promote the plant. That is why you see so much "hype" and promotion.

Question: This has been a bad year for peonies. Very few blooms and many of the buds turned brown and didn't bloom. Other plants simply never had any buds. I had transplanted some of them last fall - I'm pretty sure they're not too deep. Should I try to transplant them or simply wait another year?

Answer: Peonies re-establish slowly, especially if divided. If they are in full sun and well drained soil, just leave them alone. Peonies are heavy feeders so feed generously with Bulb-tone or Flower-tone throughout the season. The peony buds may have turned brown because the newly transplanted peonies were too weak to support them to maturity. Or they may have had botrytis fungus. Next spring, spray as the leaves emerge with Mancozeb, drenching both the foliage and the surrounding soil. A preventive spray in late September is a good idea. Cut off and destroy all of those unopened buds now and be sure to destroy all of the peony foliage you remove this fall.


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